A Twist of Fate
by ancientmaverick
Summary: DanJan short. A chance meeting before Daniel goes to Cheyenne Mountain.


Janet hurried through the airport, searching for the right Gate. If she didn't make her flight, she would have to wait three hours for the next, and she didn't want to be spending that much time in one of those awful plastic chairs.

She finally saw her number and picked up speed, trying not to run into too many people. She sprinted up to the door just in time to see her plane backing away from the ramp. She turned to head for the help desk when a large and solid object skidded into her, knocking her to the floor.

"God, I am so sorry!"

Janet disentangled herself from her carry-on and looked up to see a sandy-haired man grinning sheepishly down at her. He was holding out his hand.

"I was definitely not paying attention. I'm assuming we've both just missed the same flight?"

Janet took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. She brushed off her skirt and smiled back at the man.

"I guess so. And don't worry, I wasn't really paying attention to anything around me either."

His grin widened. "Well, at least I managed to bump into a friendly flyer. I've been around some of the not-so-friendly ones before. My name is Daniel."

Janet picked up her bags and headed for the desk. "I'm Janet. I know what you mean. Flying tends to do interesting things to people."

Daniel followed her, carrying one small travel-worn bag. "I guess you'd know quite a bit about that."

They reached the desk and handed their respective tickets to the airline staff, explaining their problem. Once everything was sorted out, Janet headed for a chair by the window. She raised an eyebrow in the man's direction. "Care to wait with me, Daniel?"

He nodded and sat down, pulling out a dog-eared book in another language. He didn't open it, though, just set it on his lap and stared out the window.

Janet waited a moment, but had to ask. "Why would you think I'd know a lot about flying?"

He laughed, but tried to stifle it when she frowned. "Your uniform. That is US Air Force insignia, correct?"

She glanced down, realizing that her uniform was visible underneath her coat. "Yes, actually. You're very observant. Most people don't see the difference between this and a really blue business suit."

"I've had some experience with the Air Force in the past. Actually, I'm headed out to Colorado to do some work for them."

Janet chuckled. "Let me guess. Cheyenne Mountain?"

He looked surprised and nodded. "You've heard of it then?"

"I used to work there."

Daniel looked confused. "I'm still trying to get used to this. Cheyenne Mountain is an underground complex. Yet it's manned by Air Force personnel?"

Janet laughed. "It doesn't make much sense, does it? Actually, I'm a doctor by trade, so I was acting as a base physician for NORAD. The Air Force has some deep-space radar telemetry thing going on the lower levels."

"Interesting."

She saw that he was still a bit bewildered. "You say you're doing some work for the Air Force?" He nodded. "What kind of work?"

He held up his book and she could see now that it had a pyramid on the cover. "I'm translating some Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. I'm not sure what that has to do with deep-space radar telemetry, but apparently, these glyphs have posed quite a challenge for them."

"Are you a professor of some sort?"

He frowned slightly. "Not really. I've been doing some archeological work in Egypt for several years, but I've had a bit of bad luck recently with funding." He smiled ruefully. "I don't exactly have the most popular theories."

Janet smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure things will work out."

He grinned. "One can only hope. So what about you? Where are you headed?"

"Home, actually. I was in the city to finalize my divorce."

He looked slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

She laughed. "Don't be. Things just don't work out the way we want them to." She didn't really want to get into that discussion and Daniel seemed to sense that and changed the subject.

It was two and a half hours later when Janet looked at her watch. They had talked the entire time, about their jobs, life in other countries, and the problems of the world.

A voice came over the loudspeaker then, announcing their flight. She and Daniel stood, and she held out her hand, which he shook.

"I enjoyed our conversation, Daniel."

"I did as well."

They stood awkwardly for a moment. Janet debated, and then pulled a business card out of her purse. She hesitated before handing it to him. "I don't normally do things like this, but…if you happen to be in the area, well…"

He took the card. "Dr. Janet Fraiser." His smile made the corners of his eyes crinkle. "I'll give you a call."

They headed for the door to the ramp. They would be sitting in different sections of the plane, so their goodbyes would have to take place here.

"I hope to see you again, Janet."

"Good luck with the Air Force, Daniel."

Then they parted, each wondering if some twist of fate would ever bring them back together.


End file.
